Why Austin?
Don't mess with Texas.
Austin is the proverbial underdog to Silicon Valley—and we like it that way. Since the days of the Alamo, Texans have been known to stand up to their competition. The art of the struggle is in our blood and it's what drives our innovation. It's no wonder we built the only state capital that's taller than the nation's capitol. And with median housing costs being about 4.5 times lower than our tech sibling to the west, it looks like we'll continue to build a bit bigger in Texas.
A creative oasis.
"Keep Austin Weird" is our rallying cry to maintain Austin's eclectic and distinctive nature. It's also the key to Austin's economic success. With it's abundance of talent, technology, and tolerance, Austin ranked second on Richard Florida's list of the most creative cities in his book The Rise of the Creative Class.
Sing it Willie!
Home to SXSW and Austin City Limits, Austin is the undeniable live music capitol of the world. Every spring, 7000 bands from around the world converge in Texas for a week of live music and the SXSW interactive conference. This is a prelude to Austin City Limits, which Pollster named the "Festival of the Year" in the 2006 Concert Industry Awards.
Hippie City.
Austin is undeniably cool. Cult films like Dazed and Confused and Office Space were filmed here and Eeyore's birthday celebration brings a large audience of hippies and hippie wannabees every year. On South Congress Avenue you'll find hipsters sipping on coffee and trendsetters enjoying sangria and Mexican martinis. Lamar Boulevard is home to the world's largest Whole Foods market and Uchi, whose head sushi guru was named one of the top ten new chefs in America by Food and Wine. He's Austin's second honoree since 2003.
Skype me. I'm wireless.
Downtown Austin is now wireless. As of this year, the city's Outdoor Wireless Mesh Project began offering free Internet access to "help Austinites stay connected while enjoying their quality of life." Many of the city's parks also have free wi-fi, including Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool. There are hundreds of other free access points provided by local businesses, making Austin one of the most unwired cities in the nation.
Technopolis. Techie town. Silicon Hills.
Whatever you call it, Austin is distinctly tech savvy. Dell started here as well as National Instruments, WebMasterWorld, Coremetrics, and Trilogy. Following Dell's lead, AMD, Samsung, 3M, Motorola, and 2000 other high-tech companies made their headquarters in Austin. In fact, Austin employs the highest percentage of high-tech workers in the United States (Yes, more than Silicon Valley).
Austintatious—the top ten lowdown.
Year after year, Austin ranks in the top 10 for:
- Best Singles Scene - Forbes
- 10 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs - Entrepreneur.com
- Wireless Cities - Intel
- Smartest City - Men's Journal
- Most Educated City - US Census Bureau
- America 's Cleanest City - Reader's Digest
- Top Tech Hub - Silicon Valley
- "Best Place" for Businesses and Careers - Forbes
- Best Nightlife - Men's Journal
- Top 10 Cities For MovieMakers - Moviemaker Magazine
- College Football - National champions and two-time consecutive Rose Bowl Champions.
- Top Gay Friendly City - Gregory Kompes
- One of the Top Ten Cities to Be a Dog - DogFancy
- Coolest City for Young Professionals - Kiplinger
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